Reviews have been slow, so I'll add some romance in this chapter to
get people to read. If you read it, review it. It'd be a nice thing for you
to do, so please read this.
Chapter 4: The Ox Man, or Something
The three fell asleep fast, but Devin awoke in the middle of the night. He felt as urge as he got up, but he wasn't sure what it was. The sun still hadn't risen, and Devin knew that he never woke up this early unless he felt uneasy about something. He looked over at Sierra. She was still lying down, sleeping. 'She looks so beautiful lying there, bathed in moonlight.' Devin thought. He thought about walking over to her, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. They had held each other many times before, but something was different now. They had both changed over the last 900 years, Sierra for better, and Devin for worse. 'She's wise, and I'm foolish. She's beautiful, and I'm hideous.' Devin thought as he pulled he scarf down and touched his unsightly scars. 'What was I thinking about again?' Devin asked himself. For some reason, he couldn't think straight. 'Maybe my brain die again. Yep, me think it did. I hit head now.' Devin thought as he began to pound his head.
After about an hour of hitting his head and thinking, Devin finally worked up the courage to walk over to Sierra and gaze upon her face up close. When he stopped walking and sat down next to a sleeping Sierra, he began to get nervous. 'I know I, uh, shouldn't do something like this, but I, um, got to. I hope Sierra doesn't wake up.' The vampire thought as he leaned over to Sierra's soft neck and gently began to brush his lips against it, and then started to kiss it. Devin basked in the warmth and softness of Sierra's tender neck as he began to lightly stroke her face, but not before removing his black gauntlets. Sierra began to smile in her sleep from the pleasure of being touched so gently. This was the most exciting moment Devin had had in centuries.
Dracius started to get up a few moments later. When he saw Devin mouth on Sierra's neck while she was sleeping, he could think of only one thing: Blackmail. He pulled out a sheet of paper, a quill, and some ink in order to draw what he was seeing. "Uh, he's biting her neck? Man, vampire kisses are so messed up." Dracius whispered to himself as he started to draw more quickly. "But blackmail's blackmail, and beggars can't, uh, not beg or something like that. Great, I'm starting to sound like Devin." It only took Dracius a few minutes to finish his ink painting, and he then went back to sleep. 'You're in for a rude awakening in the morning, Devin.' He thought.
Devin figured it was time that he went to sleep. He stopped kissing and stroking Sierra, put his gloves on, and leaned over to Sierra's ear. "See you in the morning, Sierra." He whispered. "I love you." He kissed her one more time and then started to walk over to his own sleeping place, feeling pretty good about himself, but then he tripped. 'Well, that was, uh, what's that word again? Oh yeah, stupid.' He thought. When he got to his sleeping place, he lay himself down and fell asleep, but not before putting his scarf up over the bottom half of his face.
In the morning, Dracius and Devin awoke just as the sun was rising. Sierra was still sleeping.
"Hey, Devin, what were you doing up so late last night?" Dracius asked.
"Uh, nothing." Devin answered uneasily.
"Oh, really? Well, do you remember this?" Dracius inquired as he searched his sleeping place for his painting, but to no avail. "Hey, where'd my painting go?"
"Maybe a squirrel ate it. Or maybe a bear man!" Devin suggested.
"Devin, it's far too early for this." Dracius scolded.
Just then, a loud snoring noise echoed from a short distance away.
"Did you hear that?" Dracius questioned.
"Yeah. No wait, no." Devin responded.
"Whatever. We're going to follow that sound." Dracius ordered.
Devin and Dracius started running towards the source of the sound. As they ran, they found an extremely muscular man lying on the ground, snoring. He had spiky brown hair and no shoes. He wore a blue karate gi and a black bandana. As Devin and Dracius walked over to him, he awakened.
"Look, Drak! The bear man's moving!" Devin shouted.
"Devin, shut the h-
"Hey!" the muscle man exclaimed, interrupting Dracius. "Did you say bear man? Do you mean to tell me that you know something about Viktor?"
"Well, we know that he's not a very nice guy. We also know that he lives in a castle, bear man." Devin explained.
"What did you say? How dare you associate me with Viktor the Bear! I am Kaine the Ox!" the, uh, ox man yelled.
There was a short period of silence after that statement.
"I'm sorry, did you just say ox?" Dracius asked.
"Yeah, I said ox!" Kaine retorted.
". . . . . . . . . . . . . ." Devin and Dracius were both silent.
"What?" Kaine questioned. ". . . . . . . . . . . . . ." The two remained silent.
"WHAT!?" Kaine shouted. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Devin and Dracius both exploded with laughter.
"Argh! There is nothing funny about Kaine the Ox!" Kaine the, um, 'ox' insisted.
"Ha! What kind of self respecting warrior refers to himself as something as useless as an ox?" Dracius cackled.
"Yeah! Viktor the Bear was funny, but Kaine the Ox? C'mon!" Devin laughed.
"Grr. STOP LAUGHING!!!" Kaine exploded, causing some trees to fall down and causing Devin and Drak to stop laughing immediately.
"Whoa." Dracius mumbled.
"That's it! You two are dead!" Kaine screamed as he charged forward. Dracius and Devin tried to dodge his attack, but Kaine pulled out two gigantic two-handed axes, which he easily wielded with one hand. He then proceeded to strike both Devin and Dracius, knocking them to the ground and digging deep gashes into their chests all at the same time.
"Well, we're boned." Dracius said matter-of-factly.
"Hmm. Why do you small boys not get up and fight back?" Kaine inquired.
"Gee, I dunno. You're fast, angry, and swing those huge axes around like they're frickin' twigs. But of course we can fight back!" Dracius replied sarcastically.
"Ho ho ho! You puny boys obviously need training in the way of the warrior. I'll tell you what. If one of you boys can defeat me in a duel, I will train you both."
"Very well then!" Dracius announced in a brave tone. "Devin, you go."
"No way! Even I'm not that stupid!" Devin exclaimed in response.
"Darn. How about this? You fight him, and I'll give you a bottle of ground up mole bones. Do we have a d-?
"Deal!" Devin shouted, drool gushing out of his mouth.
"Alright. This will be a fist-to-fist duel. First man, or boy, to be knocked down loses. To be fair, I shall give you the first strike." Kaine explained. "Hit me!"
"Okay." Devin stated, pulling his fist back. He charged his fist with dark energy from his rune, and then followed through with the hardest punch he could manage. As his fist impacted against Kaine abdomen, a large cracking sound was created. "OWW!!! I THINK I BROKE ALL OF THE BONES IN MY HAND!"
"Wow. You're even more pathetic then I thought. I suppose I shall train you anyhow, but only if you help me to find Viktor." Kaine announced.
"What's all this noise out here?" Sierra asked from the shadows. "You woke me up with all of this commotion, I'll have you know!"
"Yeah, well, I GUESS we're sorry and everything, but we were busy fightin' ox, here." Dracius explained.
"Hmm." Sierra, started to examine ox, err, Kaine. "Judging by your tan, I would say you're a Grasslander."
"Si. I mean, yes." Kaine retorted.
"Did you recruit him or something like that?" Sierra questioned Dracius and Devin.
"I think so. He said he'd train us." Devin said, holding his now bandaged hand up and smiling at the same time. "I broke my hand while punching him."
"Your friend smiles at his pain." Kaine whispered to Dracius.
"Yes." Was Dracius' response.
"Boys, do we really want a mortal with us on our journey? His skills are surely limited." Sierra insisted.
"Mortal? Bah! Hardly, bloodsucker. I am as old as this planet. I also bear a rune." Kaine said, removing his bandana to reveal a rune on his forehead. "Behold! The Immortal Ox Rune!"
There was an extremely long silence after this.
"The what?" Devin dared to ask.
"The Immortal Ox Rune! It grants the bearer immortality and ox-like abilities." Kaine exclaimed.
"Uh, did you say ox-like abilities? What abilities would oxen have?" Dracius questioned.
"Behold!" Kaine roared as he shut his eyes and concentrated. As he was doing so, two ox horns sprouted trough his head, causing a silence in the others out of shear disgust. "Ah! Too stunned to speak, are you?"
"Uh. . . . Duh. . . . . Err. . . . . . . ." Devin babbled just before he puked.
"Well, that's more than I ever wanted to see. Are those elf bones?" Dracius inquired.
"Maybe." Devin replied as he started to smile.
"Well, shall we get going?" Kaine asked.
"I guess so. I never did find my ink drawing, though." Dracius pointed out.
"Hmm? Oh, you mean that white slab with lines on it? I ate it!" Kaine responded proudly.
". . . . . . . . . . . . You did WHAT!?" Dracius asked.
"Yeah, I thought it was some sort of food. I was hungry." Kaine explained.
". . . . . . . . . . . ." Dracius could think of nothing to say.
"Hey ox, how come you're looking for bear man?" Devin questioned.
"Well, it all started about 15 years ago. I was the most powerful man in the dojo I taught fighting in. No one could defeat me. But, one day, a bear o a man entered my dojo. He challenged me to a fist-to-fist combat duel. I, of course, accepted thinking that no one could defeat me. The battle was fierce and raged on for hours. We fought our hardest, but I could endure no more. He knocked me down with his next punch. I was disgraced! He became the champion of the dojo though I was the sensei there. He left the next day, taking with him my title, and my pride. That man was Viktor. I have hunted him relentlessly ever since, training rigorously each and every day." Kaine told the three.
"Uh. . . . . . ." Devin mumbled as his head tilted, his eye squinted and drool begun to pour out of his mouth.
"Great, Kaine. You used too many big words." Sierra scolded.
"Hey, wait a minute! If you're as old as you say, how did a mortal man beat you?" Dracius inquired.
"Shut up!" Kaine ordered.
Just then, the stomachs of Devin, Dracius, and Sierra began to growl.
"Say, ox, you got anything to eat?" Devin asked hopefully, still recovering from his brain trauma.
"Just this 'Raw Sewa'ge' stuff." Kaine answered.
"I'm beginning to really hate this whole country." Dracius said.
"Me too, but in spite of the fact that Raw Sewa'ge is the most disgusting excuse for food I've ever eaten, I guess we'll have to." Devin stated.
"Or we could just eat you." Dracius muttered.
"What'd you say, Drak?" Devin asked obliviously.
"Nothing." Dracius retorted quietly.
As the four conversed, a blonde boy wearing a green jacket carrying a rather large sack passed by.
"Freaks." He quickly said as he passed them by.
"What did you say to me?" Sierra asked, suddenly recognizing him. "Well, if it isn't Sheena?"
"Huh? Sierra?" Sheena replied as he turned around and began to sweat. "Uh, did I say freaks? I meant, uh, err, um, sheiks! Yeah, that's it!"
"Uh. . . . . . . Sheiks?" Devin inquired.
"Yeah, you know, um. . . . . . . ." Sheena started to think, and then noticed that Sierra started to get angry. "C'mon, Sierra! I was just kidding! You know I love you! Along with any other pretty girl I happen to meet. . . . ."
"Oh, I get it! He's a player!" Devin shouted with realization.
". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ." Everyone else was silent.
"Okay Sheena, here's the deal: You come with us on our 'journey' or whatever, and I spare your life." Sierra explained.
"I don't know. I'm still pretty tired from the war, and there's only one girl in the whole lot of you." Sheena complained.
"Besides, Sierra, you just got done saying how you don't want any mortals c-
"Well, this mortal happens to be useful, Dracius. As a decoy." Sierra stated, interrupting Dracius.
"Hey, I never even said I was coming with you guys!" Sheena yelled.
"Listen, uh, Shina." Dracius said.
"Hey, that's not how you spell my name, old man!" Sheena shouted angrily.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but listen. You come with us and do some big important thing in addition to fighting in the war; you'll be even more famous with those 'women' things you keep talking about. Sound good?" Dracius asked.
"Hell yeah, it sounds good! Let's get goin'!" Sheena instructed.
"Yeah!" Devin cheered.
"Wait!" Dracius exclaimed. "What have you got to eat, Sheena?"
"Well, I spent most of my money on gambling so all I have is this slop they call 'Raw Sewa'ge'." Sheena replied.
"Gr." Dracius growled. "Let's go, then." So the five were walking and, um, walking. They made it through the mountain pass that wasn't there before and were walking along the plains when some bandits came out of nowhere. Seriously. They just randomly appeared right before the group's eyes. The bandits pulled knives out. "I'll handle this." Devin told the others. "I don't know, OLD MAN. Sure you won't break your hip or something?" Sheena inquired in a rude fashion.
"I'm gonna ignore that." Devin responded as he drew two swords.
"Devin, since when do you have two swords?" Dracius questioned.
"Remember when we met bear man and he was returning some sword? I took it." Devin said proudly.
"You idiot! That was the Star Dragon Sword! Now we'll be annoyed and ridiculed daily." Dracius stated gloomily.
"Far more often than that I'm afraid." The Star Dragon Sword bellowed. "As for you, Devin, it's about time you unsheathed me!"
"Yeah, yeah. Still know how to cleave, Rusty?" Devin rudely remarked as he lunged forward and sliced the heads off of a few of the bandits. He then channeled magic from his rune into the Star Dragon Sword and threw it at one bandit as though it was a javelin. He then finally decided to use magic directly from his rune. "Black Flare!" Devin shouted as a phantom dragon appeared, charged up a black fireball in his mouth, and blasted it, killing off the remaining bandits.
"How was that, guys?" Devin asked as he walked over to the corpse of one bandit and yanked out the Star Dragon Sword.
"Two questions." Dracius replied. "First, why didn't the bandits fight back? Second, why did you use your rune's most powerful spell? You can only use that once a day!"
"You'd have an easier time answering the first one than me, Drak. And I used my best spell 'cause we'll never actually need it." Devin explained.
"Ahem!?" The Star Dragon Sword roared to catch everyone's attention. "Devin, how dare you, my servant, pour YOUR energy into ME?"
"That sword speaks our language! It must be cursed!" Kaine shouted as he drew his axes, prepared to smash the sword into pieces.
"Stand down, Curtis." Sierra instructed.
"Okay. Wait, my name isn't Curtis! It's Kaine!" Kaine yelled.
"Right. So we gonna get going or what?" Sheena asked.
"You guys go ahead. Devin, stay here." Sierra ordered.
"Whatever. See you guys later." Dracius mumbled as he, Kaine, and Sheena started walking away. When they were almost out of sight, Sierra began to speak.
"Listen, Devin. I know what you were doing last night." Sierra explained.
"You do?" Devin inquired as he began to get nervous. "So, are you mad?"
"Mad? Of course not! But, let's just say that I expect better next time you do something like that." Sierra seductively whispered in Devin's ear.
"Okay. But, what's a 'better'?" Devin questioned while maintaining his stupid demeanor.
"Never mind." Sierra sighed. "C'mon, let's catch up to the others!"
So, they, uh, ran towards the others I guess. They, uh, walked s'more when they did catch up. While they were walking, Sierra looked over at Devin.
'Same ol' Devin.' Sierra thought.
To be continued. . . . . . . .
There. You see that? Romance. Leave a review please. Next chapter will be up soon.
Chapter 4: The Ox Man, or Something
The three fell asleep fast, but Devin awoke in the middle of the night. He felt as urge as he got up, but he wasn't sure what it was. The sun still hadn't risen, and Devin knew that he never woke up this early unless he felt uneasy about something. He looked over at Sierra. She was still lying down, sleeping. 'She looks so beautiful lying there, bathed in moonlight.' Devin thought. He thought about walking over to her, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. They had held each other many times before, but something was different now. They had both changed over the last 900 years, Sierra for better, and Devin for worse. 'She's wise, and I'm foolish. She's beautiful, and I'm hideous.' Devin thought as he pulled he scarf down and touched his unsightly scars. 'What was I thinking about again?' Devin asked himself. For some reason, he couldn't think straight. 'Maybe my brain die again. Yep, me think it did. I hit head now.' Devin thought as he began to pound his head.
After about an hour of hitting his head and thinking, Devin finally worked up the courage to walk over to Sierra and gaze upon her face up close. When he stopped walking and sat down next to a sleeping Sierra, he began to get nervous. 'I know I, uh, shouldn't do something like this, but I, um, got to. I hope Sierra doesn't wake up.' The vampire thought as he leaned over to Sierra's soft neck and gently began to brush his lips against it, and then started to kiss it. Devin basked in the warmth and softness of Sierra's tender neck as he began to lightly stroke her face, but not before removing his black gauntlets. Sierra began to smile in her sleep from the pleasure of being touched so gently. This was the most exciting moment Devin had had in centuries.
Dracius started to get up a few moments later. When he saw Devin mouth on Sierra's neck while she was sleeping, he could think of only one thing: Blackmail. He pulled out a sheet of paper, a quill, and some ink in order to draw what he was seeing. "Uh, he's biting her neck? Man, vampire kisses are so messed up." Dracius whispered to himself as he started to draw more quickly. "But blackmail's blackmail, and beggars can't, uh, not beg or something like that. Great, I'm starting to sound like Devin." It only took Dracius a few minutes to finish his ink painting, and he then went back to sleep. 'You're in for a rude awakening in the morning, Devin.' He thought.
Devin figured it was time that he went to sleep. He stopped kissing and stroking Sierra, put his gloves on, and leaned over to Sierra's ear. "See you in the morning, Sierra." He whispered. "I love you." He kissed her one more time and then started to walk over to his own sleeping place, feeling pretty good about himself, but then he tripped. 'Well, that was, uh, what's that word again? Oh yeah, stupid.' He thought. When he got to his sleeping place, he lay himself down and fell asleep, but not before putting his scarf up over the bottom half of his face.
In the morning, Dracius and Devin awoke just as the sun was rising. Sierra was still sleeping.
"Hey, Devin, what were you doing up so late last night?" Dracius asked.
"Uh, nothing." Devin answered uneasily.
"Oh, really? Well, do you remember this?" Dracius inquired as he searched his sleeping place for his painting, but to no avail. "Hey, where'd my painting go?"
"Maybe a squirrel ate it. Or maybe a bear man!" Devin suggested.
"Devin, it's far too early for this." Dracius scolded.
Just then, a loud snoring noise echoed from a short distance away.
"Did you hear that?" Dracius questioned.
"Yeah. No wait, no." Devin responded.
"Whatever. We're going to follow that sound." Dracius ordered.
Devin and Dracius started running towards the source of the sound. As they ran, they found an extremely muscular man lying on the ground, snoring. He had spiky brown hair and no shoes. He wore a blue karate gi and a black bandana. As Devin and Dracius walked over to him, he awakened.
"Look, Drak! The bear man's moving!" Devin shouted.
"Devin, shut the h-
"Hey!" the muscle man exclaimed, interrupting Dracius. "Did you say bear man? Do you mean to tell me that you know something about Viktor?"
"Well, we know that he's not a very nice guy. We also know that he lives in a castle, bear man." Devin explained.
"What did you say? How dare you associate me with Viktor the Bear! I am Kaine the Ox!" the, uh, ox man yelled.
There was a short period of silence after that statement.
"I'm sorry, did you just say ox?" Dracius asked.
"Yeah, I said ox!" Kaine retorted.
". . . . . . . . . . . . . ." Devin and Dracius were both silent.
"What?" Kaine questioned. ". . . . . . . . . . . . . ." The two remained silent.
"WHAT!?" Kaine shouted. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Devin and Dracius both exploded with laughter.
"Argh! There is nothing funny about Kaine the Ox!" Kaine the, um, 'ox' insisted.
"Ha! What kind of self respecting warrior refers to himself as something as useless as an ox?" Dracius cackled.
"Yeah! Viktor the Bear was funny, but Kaine the Ox? C'mon!" Devin laughed.
"Grr. STOP LAUGHING!!!" Kaine exploded, causing some trees to fall down and causing Devin and Drak to stop laughing immediately.
"Whoa." Dracius mumbled.
"That's it! You two are dead!" Kaine screamed as he charged forward. Dracius and Devin tried to dodge his attack, but Kaine pulled out two gigantic two-handed axes, which he easily wielded with one hand. He then proceeded to strike both Devin and Dracius, knocking them to the ground and digging deep gashes into their chests all at the same time.
"Well, we're boned." Dracius said matter-of-factly.
"Hmm. Why do you small boys not get up and fight back?" Kaine inquired.
"Gee, I dunno. You're fast, angry, and swing those huge axes around like they're frickin' twigs. But of course we can fight back!" Dracius replied sarcastically.
"Ho ho ho! You puny boys obviously need training in the way of the warrior. I'll tell you what. If one of you boys can defeat me in a duel, I will train you both."
"Very well then!" Dracius announced in a brave tone. "Devin, you go."
"No way! Even I'm not that stupid!" Devin exclaimed in response.
"Darn. How about this? You fight him, and I'll give you a bottle of ground up mole bones. Do we have a d-?
"Deal!" Devin shouted, drool gushing out of his mouth.
"Alright. This will be a fist-to-fist duel. First man, or boy, to be knocked down loses. To be fair, I shall give you the first strike." Kaine explained. "Hit me!"
"Okay." Devin stated, pulling his fist back. He charged his fist with dark energy from his rune, and then followed through with the hardest punch he could manage. As his fist impacted against Kaine abdomen, a large cracking sound was created. "OWW!!! I THINK I BROKE ALL OF THE BONES IN MY HAND!"
"Wow. You're even more pathetic then I thought. I suppose I shall train you anyhow, but only if you help me to find Viktor." Kaine announced.
"What's all this noise out here?" Sierra asked from the shadows. "You woke me up with all of this commotion, I'll have you know!"
"Yeah, well, I GUESS we're sorry and everything, but we were busy fightin' ox, here." Dracius explained.
"Hmm." Sierra, started to examine ox, err, Kaine. "Judging by your tan, I would say you're a Grasslander."
"Si. I mean, yes." Kaine retorted.
"Did you recruit him or something like that?" Sierra questioned Dracius and Devin.
"I think so. He said he'd train us." Devin said, holding his now bandaged hand up and smiling at the same time. "I broke my hand while punching him."
"Your friend smiles at his pain." Kaine whispered to Dracius.
"Yes." Was Dracius' response.
"Boys, do we really want a mortal with us on our journey? His skills are surely limited." Sierra insisted.
"Mortal? Bah! Hardly, bloodsucker. I am as old as this planet. I also bear a rune." Kaine said, removing his bandana to reveal a rune on his forehead. "Behold! The Immortal Ox Rune!"
There was an extremely long silence after this.
"The what?" Devin dared to ask.
"The Immortal Ox Rune! It grants the bearer immortality and ox-like abilities." Kaine exclaimed.
"Uh, did you say ox-like abilities? What abilities would oxen have?" Dracius questioned.
"Behold!" Kaine roared as he shut his eyes and concentrated. As he was doing so, two ox horns sprouted trough his head, causing a silence in the others out of shear disgust. "Ah! Too stunned to speak, are you?"
"Uh. . . . Duh. . . . . Err. . . . . . . ." Devin babbled just before he puked.
"Well, that's more than I ever wanted to see. Are those elf bones?" Dracius inquired.
"Maybe." Devin replied as he started to smile.
"Well, shall we get going?" Kaine asked.
"I guess so. I never did find my ink drawing, though." Dracius pointed out.
"Hmm? Oh, you mean that white slab with lines on it? I ate it!" Kaine responded proudly.
". . . . . . . . . . . . You did WHAT!?" Dracius asked.
"Yeah, I thought it was some sort of food. I was hungry." Kaine explained.
". . . . . . . . . . . ." Dracius could think of nothing to say.
"Hey ox, how come you're looking for bear man?" Devin questioned.
"Well, it all started about 15 years ago. I was the most powerful man in the dojo I taught fighting in. No one could defeat me. But, one day, a bear o a man entered my dojo. He challenged me to a fist-to-fist combat duel. I, of course, accepted thinking that no one could defeat me. The battle was fierce and raged on for hours. We fought our hardest, but I could endure no more. He knocked me down with his next punch. I was disgraced! He became the champion of the dojo though I was the sensei there. He left the next day, taking with him my title, and my pride. That man was Viktor. I have hunted him relentlessly ever since, training rigorously each and every day." Kaine told the three.
"Uh. . . . . . ." Devin mumbled as his head tilted, his eye squinted and drool begun to pour out of his mouth.
"Great, Kaine. You used too many big words." Sierra scolded.
"Hey, wait a minute! If you're as old as you say, how did a mortal man beat you?" Dracius inquired.
"Shut up!" Kaine ordered.
Just then, the stomachs of Devin, Dracius, and Sierra began to growl.
"Say, ox, you got anything to eat?" Devin asked hopefully, still recovering from his brain trauma.
"Just this 'Raw Sewa'ge' stuff." Kaine answered.
"I'm beginning to really hate this whole country." Dracius said.
"Me too, but in spite of the fact that Raw Sewa'ge is the most disgusting excuse for food I've ever eaten, I guess we'll have to." Devin stated.
"Or we could just eat you." Dracius muttered.
"What'd you say, Drak?" Devin asked obliviously.
"Nothing." Dracius retorted quietly.
As the four conversed, a blonde boy wearing a green jacket carrying a rather large sack passed by.
"Freaks." He quickly said as he passed them by.
"What did you say to me?" Sierra asked, suddenly recognizing him. "Well, if it isn't Sheena?"
"Huh? Sierra?" Sheena replied as he turned around and began to sweat. "Uh, did I say freaks? I meant, uh, err, um, sheiks! Yeah, that's it!"
"Uh. . . . . . . Sheiks?" Devin inquired.
"Yeah, you know, um. . . . . . . ." Sheena started to think, and then noticed that Sierra started to get angry. "C'mon, Sierra! I was just kidding! You know I love you! Along with any other pretty girl I happen to meet. . . . ."
"Oh, I get it! He's a player!" Devin shouted with realization.
". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ." Everyone else was silent.
"Okay Sheena, here's the deal: You come with us on our 'journey' or whatever, and I spare your life." Sierra explained.
"I don't know. I'm still pretty tired from the war, and there's only one girl in the whole lot of you." Sheena complained.
"Besides, Sierra, you just got done saying how you don't want any mortals c-
"Well, this mortal happens to be useful, Dracius. As a decoy." Sierra stated, interrupting Dracius.
"Hey, I never even said I was coming with you guys!" Sheena yelled.
"Listen, uh, Shina." Dracius said.
"Hey, that's not how you spell my name, old man!" Sheena shouted angrily.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but listen. You come with us and do some big important thing in addition to fighting in the war; you'll be even more famous with those 'women' things you keep talking about. Sound good?" Dracius asked.
"Hell yeah, it sounds good! Let's get goin'!" Sheena instructed.
"Yeah!" Devin cheered.
"Wait!" Dracius exclaimed. "What have you got to eat, Sheena?"
"Well, I spent most of my money on gambling so all I have is this slop they call 'Raw Sewa'ge'." Sheena replied.
"Gr." Dracius growled. "Let's go, then." So the five were walking and, um, walking. They made it through the mountain pass that wasn't there before and were walking along the plains when some bandits came out of nowhere. Seriously. They just randomly appeared right before the group's eyes. The bandits pulled knives out. "I'll handle this." Devin told the others. "I don't know, OLD MAN. Sure you won't break your hip or something?" Sheena inquired in a rude fashion.
"I'm gonna ignore that." Devin responded as he drew two swords.
"Devin, since when do you have two swords?" Dracius questioned.
"Remember when we met bear man and he was returning some sword? I took it." Devin said proudly.
"You idiot! That was the Star Dragon Sword! Now we'll be annoyed and ridiculed daily." Dracius stated gloomily.
"Far more often than that I'm afraid." The Star Dragon Sword bellowed. "As for you, Devin, it's about time you unsheathed me!"
"Yeah, yeah. Still know how to cleave, Rusty?" Devin rudely remarked as he lunged forward and sliced the heads off of a few of the bandits. He then channeled magic from his rune into the Star Dragon Sword and threw it at one bandit as though it was a javelin. He then finally decided to use magic directly from his rune. "Black Flare!" Devin shouted as a phantom dragon appeared, charged up a black fireball in his mouth, and blasted it, killing off the remaining bandits.
"How was that, guys?" Devin asked as he walked over to the corpse of one bandit and yanked out the Star Dragon Sword.
"Two questions." Dracius replied. "First, why didn't the bandits fight back? Second, why did you use your rune's most powerful spell? You can only use that once a day!"
"You'd have an easier time answering the first one than me, Drak. And I used my best spell 'cause we'll never actually need it." Devin explained.
"Ahem!?" The Star Dragon Sword roared to catch everyone's attention. "Devin, how dare you, my servant, pour YOUR energy into ME?"
"That sword speaks our language! It must be cursed!" Kaine shouted as he drew his axes, prepared to smash the sword into pieces.
"Stand down, Curtis." Sierra instructed.
"Okay. Wait, my name isn't Curtis! It's Kaine!" Kaine yelled.
"Right. So we gonna get going or what?" Sheena asked.
"You guys go ahead. Devin, stay here." Sierra ordered.
"Whatever. See you guys later." Dracius mumbled as he, Kaine, and Sheena started walking away. When they were almost out of sight, Sierra began to speak.
"Listen, Devin. I know what you were doing last night." Sierra explained.
"You do?" Devin inquired as he began to get nervous. "So, are you mad?"
"Mad? Of course not! But, let's just say that I expect better next time you do something like that." Sierra seductively whispered in Devin's ear.
"Okay. But, what's a 'better'?" Devin questioned while maintaining his stupid demeanor.
"Never mind." Sierra sighed. "C'mon, let's catch up to the others!"
So, they, uh, ran towards the others I guess. They, uh, walked s'more when they did catch up. While they were walking, Sierra looked over at Devin.
'Same ol' Devin.' Sierra thought.
To be continued. . . . . . . .
There. You see that? Romance. Leave a review please. Next chapter will be up soon.